MIAMI — The Heat’s preseason is over and the real games start Wednesday in Orlando against the Magic.

Miami finished the preseason with a 3-3 record. The Heat lost Rodney McGruder in the process, who has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left tibia.

McGruder is still being evaluated and the Heat have yet to announce how long he will be out, although the Vertical is reporting McGruder will “likely undergo surgery” and miss three to six months.

Aside from McGruder’s injury, what did we learn about this Heat team during the preseason? Here are three takeaways from Miami’s six-game preseason schedule …

1. Hassan Whiteside, Kelly Olynyk can play together: Entering the preseason, many expected Olynyk to be Whiteside’s backup at center. But Olynyk may actually end up being the Heat’s starting power forward and backup center. The two 7-footers logged about 32 minutes together this preseason, and Miami outscored opponents 68-62 during that time. Whiteside thrived, scoring 20 points on 75 percent shooting with Olynyk by his side. But Olynyk wasn’t as effective offensively, totaling three points on 1-of-8 shooting playing next to Whiteside. This is such a small sample size, though, that it’s way too soon to point to Olynyk’s scoring struggles in this lineup as a trend. One thing we do know is that Olynyk didn’t play much as a power forward last season with the Celtics, as he spent 91 percent of his minutes at center and just 9 percent at power forward. But with Olynyk’s unique ability to pass and shoot at 7-feet, the Heat believe this pairing can work. Throw in the fact that power forward James Johnson clearly prefers to come off the bench, and that might be all coach Erik Spoelstra needs to use a starting frontcourt of Whiteside and Olynyk in the season opener.

2. Josh Richardson is healthy … and good: There was no training camp or preseason for Richardson last year due to a knee injury. And he went on to miss 29 of the Heat’s first 57 games due to various injuries. But Richardson is now healthy and he looked really good this preseason, averaging 13.6 points on 44.6 percent shooting from the field to go with 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.6 blocks. Maybe the most impressive stat of all — even though it was only the preseason — is that the Heat outscored opponents by 17 points with Richardson on the court. With Richardson off the court, opponents outscored the Heat by 52 points this preseason. Whether Richardson starts or not, he’s going to play a lot of minutes and probably be in the Heat’s “crunch time” lineup this season.

3. Justise Winslow, the passer: While most have been focused on Winslow’s outside shot, there’s clearly more to his game. The 21-year-old struggled with his shot this preseason, averaging 6.0 points on 36.4 percent shooting. But he was effective as a facilitator. Toward the end of the preseason schedule, Spoelstra put Winslow in a point-forward role and surrounded him with shooters. The result? Winslow recorded nine assists in a win over Washington on Wednesday. While shooting is still a weakness, there’s no doubt that Winslow is one of the best passers on the Heat’s roster. If Spoelstra can figure out a rotation that puts Winslow on the floor in a lineup that allows him to play as a point-forward, he can be a very effective weapon for this team. The problem is, how many minutes will Winslow get in that role? If Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters or James Johnson are on the court, they need the ball in their hands, too. So it will be interesting to see how Spoelstra figures this one out.

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About the Author

Anthony Chiang began his writing career in Gainesville at the University of Florida’s student-run newspaper. At The Independent Florida Alligator, he covered the school’s golf, volleyball, baseball, and football teams. The Miami native has also written for the Sun Sentinel and MLB.com, following the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tom is a Heat beat writer for the Palm Beach Post. He has covered sports in Florida since 1981.